Tsukimi udon is a traditional Japanese noodle soup of chewy udon noodles and a flavourful dashi broth. Tsikumi means moon viewing and refers to the raw egg yolk that looks like a shining full moon.
Servings2
Ingredients
- 2 servings udon noodles*
Dashi noodle broth*
- 2⅓ cups dashi broth*
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin*
- 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
- salt (optional)
Toppings
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 scallion (green onion) , thinly sliced
- pinch shichimi togarashi (Japanese 7 spice), or toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring plenty of water to a boil – at least 6 cups. Add the udon noodles and cook according to package instructions – my parboiled noodles only need 2 to 3 minutes. Separate the noodles by stirring with chopsticks.
- Rinse the hot noodles with cold water and drain in a colander.
- Return the saucepan to the heat and bring the dashi broth, soy sauce and mirin to a simmer (see notes if you have mentsuyu sauce). Taste first, then add the teaspoon of sugar (if needed). Add a pinch of salt for seasoning or a splash of boiling water if the broth is too strong for your taste.
- Divide the udon noodles between two deep bowls and pour the hot dashi broth over the udon noodles.
- Scatter over the sliced green onions. Then, nestle an egg yolk into each bowl. Sprinkle with shichimi togarashi or sesame seeds. And serve hot.
Notes
- I use packaged parboiled udon noodles sold in 7-oz portions (200 grams). You can also use fresh or frozen udon noodles. If you can only find dried udon noodles, you can use them, but they won't be as plump and chewy as fresh, frozen or parboiled noodles.
- You can make dashi broth from scratch using bonito flakes and kombu seaweed. But you can also use store-bought dashi or instant dashi powder (follow package instructions).
- Mentsuyu is a Japanese soup base, and my homemade mentsuyu sauce recipe is concentrated and flavourful. It keeps for 4 weeks in the fridge, so it's worth making a large batch. To use mentsuyu for a quick broth: Dilute ½ cup of homemade mentsuyu with 2 cups of water and a tablespoon of mirin – a 1:4 ratio of mentsuyu to water. Taste and adjust with more water, mentsuyu, or a pinch of salt. Or follow the package instructions for store-bought mentsuyu. See the kake udon recipe for full instructions on how to use mentsuyu to make noodle broth.
- I use hon mirin for this recipe (sweet Japanese rice wine). If your mirin has ingredients like sugar or corn syrup, it’s not “real brewed mirin” and is likely much sweeter. Go ahead and use it, but omit the sugar – otherwise, your sauce will be crazy sweet. See the ingredients and substitutes for more information.
- Tsukimi udon is traditionally served with raw egg yolk, but you can opt for a soft-boiled egg if that's not your vibe. Or try more topping variations.